President Donald Trump is threatening to sue Trevor Noah over a joke at last night’s Grammy Awards, saying in an overnight post on Truth Social that the comedian’s crack claiming he visited Jeffrey Epstein’s island was “false and defamatory.”
Noah, who hosted the awards show, had poked at Trump’s relationship with the late sex offender and the president’s ambitions for the United States to take over Greenland.
“That is a Grammy that every artist wants almost as much as Trump wants Greenland,” Noah said. “Which makes sense, I mean, because Epstein’s island is gone, he needs a new one to hang out on with Bill Clinton.”
In the post on Truth Social, Trump said that he has never visited Epstein’s island, “nor anywhere close, and until tonight’s false and defamatory statement, have never been accused of being there, not even by the Fake News Media.” Epstein had also previously denied that former President Bill Clinton had ever visited his island.
“Noah, a total loser, better get his facts straight, and get them straight fast,” the post continued. “It looks like I’ll be sending my lawyers to sue this poor, pathetic, talentless, dope of an M.C., and suing him for plenty$.”
Noah’s agency and management did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment. Neither Trump nor Clinton have been charged with any crimes related to Epstein, and they have both denied any wrongdoing. A representative for Clinton did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
Epstein’s island in the Caribbean was an alleged spot for abuse of women and girls. Trump has previously said that he rejected Epstein’s invitation to visit the island, and he has said that the two had a falling out years before Epstein died by suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Trump has also said that he kicked Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago club after Epstein “took people that worked for me.”
Trump has a history of suing media over unfavorable or what he has claimed was defamatory coverage, which he referred to in his overnight Truth Social post. Trump pointed to his lawsuits against ABC News and CBS News, both of which ultimately ended in multimillion-dollar settlements for the president.
“Get ready Noah, I’m going to have some fun with you!” Trump added.
Awards show hosts have for years joked about politics during their programs. At least a dozen artists, including Bad Bunny and Billie Eilish, used their acceptance speeches Sunday to criticize Immigration and Customs Enforcement over the administration’s aggressive — and in several cases fatal — deportation efforts. Several artists also wore pins reading “ICE OUT.”
Angela Yang, Rebecca Cohen and Nicole Acevedo contributed.
